Recently while watching a television program – I think
it was “ Inside Edition,” but don’t hold me to that – I
saw a really useful segment on little known but useful
things your cell phone can do.
If you’re a techno-genius, you may want to skip this
column. Techies usually know this stuff years before
the rest of us find out about it. But both of these tips
are super simple and very helpful, so I want to share
them with you.
The first one is extremely basic, but most people
I told about it were unaware of it. Here it is: if you
need to recharge your phone quickly, put it on Airplane
Mode first. This shuts down all sorts of things
that are running in the background on your phone,
thereby slowing down the recharging process. I tried
it out, and it works. This would be a great help if you
need to use your iPhone soon and don’t have time to
wait on it to recharge slowly.
The second tip turned out to be even more valuable.
Here it is: if you accidentally delete or lose
something on your phone, you can get it back quickly
by just shaking it briskly. This causes a screen to pop
up, offering an “undo” option. Just tap on that and
whatever you lost will reappear like magic. I thought
this would be a godsend for me someday. Little did
I know that “someday” would be the very next day,
when I accidentally managed to lose most of my column.
Good thing I learned that retrieval tip. I shook
my phone (while having a serious meltdown!), and to
my amazement up popped the undo feature.
This was a true blessing. If you ever have to rewrite
a column, you’ll quickly understand why. That is one
of the most boring chores ever. And if you’re on dead line,
that really adds tension to the mix.
I have never seen either of these tips in any book
on smart phones, nor has anyone ever shared them
with me. You’d think the word would get out some how.
Well, thanks to “Inside Edition,” I know now, and
I want to share this information with all of you. Just
think of it as an early holiday gift. As for me, I’m recon sidering
my belief (frequently seen here) that technology
is NOT our friend. Maybe there are some good
things about it after all. Only time will tell.
To all my readers getting ready to celebrate Chanukah,
I wish you plenty of latkes and eight nights
lighting your menorahs.
